The Price of Freedom

8: SATYR GOLD

Its head lowered and its horns pointing forwards, the minotaur stampeded down the passage like a raging god of war. Its axe was forgotten for this was the final assault that would smash its foe into bloody paste.  

Aefion tensed as the bloodthirsty titan bore down upon him. Seconds before impact, he leapt into the air.  

The elf twisted like a sea serpent, somersaulting neatly onto the minotaur's shoulders. Too late the beast realised its target had vanished. The impetus of its charge carried it forwards to crash headlong into the door, splitting it asunder with a mighty crack. Ripped off its hinges, the splintered wreck was hurled aside as the beast thundered past before grinding to a halt in a cloud of dust and debris. Aefion paid no attention to his surroundings, instead aiming the Fyr'Akharyn downward at the back of the minotaur's neck.  

'Time for you,' he snarled, 'to die.' A rapid burst of crimson shards thrust into quickly ended its life. The beast gave a roar of pain that came to a sputtering standstill. Slowly, its burning eyes dimmed and the body came crashing earthwards. Aefion leapt clear. Exhausted, he slumped to the ground and closed his eyes.  

His powers as a Beltharin had only recently begun to develop. Reaching out to the immaterial Spiritscape, he relaxed and let his mind wander.  

Before him stretched a vast, wind-swept plain. The long, yellow grass bent forwards as an invisible force swept through it, as if a hand was stroking it gently. The wind moaned a lonely chorus against the soft rustling of the grass. The sky above was dusky red, shifting constantly with amorphous, orange clouds.  

Aefion could feel the cool touch of the wind on his body. He likened its caress to a girl's touch, her hands soothing and yet exhilarating to his senses. Slowly, he held out his hand, palm up.  

A tiny point of red light, with a long, drawn out tail like that of a fiery comet, appeared on the horizon and was drawn towards him. It streaked across the Spiritscape, a tiny wisp of energy until it reached his palm. There it circled around itself, twirling and twisting until it resembled a miniature scarlet pool.  

Gradually, more small lights blinked into existence on the horizon. He reeled them in. Like water droplets they trickled into the central pool. One by one they came, adding to the concentrated gathering of energy. The pool of red light pulsated with heat and warmth. It sparkled with an eerie lustre, like a thousand living souls. Raising his hand to the sunburnt sky, he took the energy into himself, and, struggling to contain it, he unleashed it into the mortal plane.  

The first thing he felt when he opened his eyes was the throbbing pain receding. He groaned as bones mended and flesh healed. It hurt like hell. Pulling up his jerkin, he looked down at himself and grimaced as he saw the huge, crimson veins, pulsating like tendrils, spreading out over his torso. Finally, with a bright pulse of pinkish light the veins vanished, leaving nothing but a dull ache. Healing was painful, and took a while; he knew he'd be a little stiff for a few hours. Foolish of him, he thought, getting himself struck like that. Ideally, he wouldn't have got hit at all. It was bad enough facing a monster that was over four metres high and built like a Valhallan battle-suit. He made a mental note to avoid close combat and stick to fighting from afar.  

Blinking, he stared around him. He was lying in a square chamber bordered by dark red columns of some sort of mineral. The domed roof above was cluttered with stalactites of the same substance, looking like a witch's probing fingers. His eyes searching, he spotted a jagged, rectangular hole, high up in the wall. It could only be reached by a series of tumbled blocks and leaning pillars, like a bizarre sequence of giant, fallen dominoes. A faint grey light beamed down from the opening, a column of ever-shifting dust motes. He was about to consult the map when something clinked beneath him. As he shifted his body and looked down, he opened his mouth in astonishment.